Companion (2025) review – A bloody brilliant subversion of AI horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are checking out Drew Hancock’s science fiction comedy horror Companion. We should probably get the obligatory “this is more of a thriller” thing out of the way first. This is, technically, a black comedy thriller. There are plenty of horror elements at play and I think there is enough here to please genre fans.

Before we start, if you are looking for an explanation for this movie, why not take a look at our Companion Ending Explained article? Be warned, it does contain spoilers, unlike this review.

Not What You Might Think

Companion follows young woman Iris (Sophie Thatcher) as she sets out to spend the weekend with her boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid), and his friends in a lavish mansion in the woods. What starts as an awkward night of stilted social interactions and mingling quickly turns into something altogether more deadly. As Iris is placed in a compromising situation where she is forced to defend herself at all costs.

This is a pretty difficult movie to talk about without spoilers. That leaves me wondering how in-depth I should go in this review.

This is a pretty difficult movie to talk about without spoilers. That leaves me wondering how in-depth I should go in this review. I need to place some emphasis on just how great this movie is. As well as the way Companion subverts expectation when it comes to the themes at play.

Suffice to say, there is an AI component to this film that plays a massive part in the plot. With that being said, it would, likely, be fairly easy to greet Companion with no small amount of disdain. Movies based around AI gone rogue have been around for years. Hell, some of the most famous movies ever feature that very concept.

We have the Terminator series, Blade Runner, Demon Seed from 1977, or, going even further back, HAL-9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a tried and tested formula that has kind of worn out its welcome in recent years. With terrible movies like AfrAId and Romi leading the 2020s AI horror charge, you would be right to be sceptical.

This AI based horror is actually great

I myself was also very sceptical going into Companion, but I did have some hope. This is a great cast, for one. The obvious comedy aspects promised a little levity that may distract from the overly played-out AI themes, too. I needn’t have worried. Companion is a legitimately great movie. Drew Hancock presents a refreshing take on the whole AI thing. He take the concept in directions that you may, or may not, expect and are immensely satisfying.

“Companion succeeds in many of the same ways that the brilliant The Substance does. By melding chaos with silliness and a healthy dose of violence.”

Companion is a perfect balance of comedy, cat-and-mouse thriller shenanigans, gore, and genuine moments of touchingly raw existential storytelling. What starts off as a traditional rom-com style film shifts and switches relentlessly. Turning into something that manages, somehow, to work on multiple different levels.

Companion succeeds in many of the same ways that the brilliant The Substance does. By melding chaos with silliness and a healthy dose of violence. It is genuinely entertaining and a lot of fun, throughout.

The twist at the movie’s forefront isn’t the most apparent in the world. But is extremely well-executed, opening the story up and taking things in a completely different direction from what you might have initially imagined. It also works to send out multiple plot threads. Offering the movie an opportunity to tell a number of different stories, all at the same time.

The story’s twist is just the start of the fun

The impressive thing about Companion is that Hancock isn’t simply content to allow the twist to be the be-all and end-all of the film. That’s just the start. The surprises keep coming, and Hancock digs his feet in to deliver a movie that works on almost all fronts, whether it is as a comedy, a thriller, or a gory horror with some absolutely brutal kills.

The script works in tandem with the direction and shot choices to set up some brilliant moments of comedy, with the movie never taking itself too seriously and keeping the keen devotion to levity at the forefront of the focus. This is a legitimately laugh-out-loud film on a number of occasions.

Things do ramp up early and often in the thriller department, with Companion transforming into a traditional cat-and-mouse romp across the forest. But the movie still manages to shine despite the more formulaic pacing and setup.

Scenes reflecting the characters planning their next moves work well as both exposition and as moments to make you laugh, while flashback scenes add clarity to some of the plot points while, again, maintaining that oh-so-important devotion to the laughs.

The thriller elements actually manage to succeed in being legitimately tense, as you actually care about the protagonist. And everything in-between is incredibly well-paced to keep the action flowing with little in the way of let-up.

A stellar cast with a brilliant lead performance

The cast here is fantastic, throughout. Jack Quaid, as Josh, is the perfect loser: both smarmy and self-important while also managing to grab a few laughs on a number of occasions. Harvey Guillén is tons of fun as Eli. Smile 2‘s Lukas Gage is really effective as Patrick, managing to switch up his personality convincingly on a number of occasions.

“This is really the Sophie Thatcher show, and she is fantastic here. Thatcher absolutely gets her character and has brilliant delivery almost the entire way through.”

This is really the Sophie Thatcher show, and she is fantastic here. Thatcher absolutely gets her character and has brilliant delivery almost the entire way through. She manages to make Iris an incredibly likable character while also nailing the more comedy-focused aspects of the character. Hancock’s direction is decent. There aren’t any tremendously standout shots, but the pacing is excellent and Hancock’s script is brilliantly witty.

It would be remiss of me to not point out some of the plot holes. A lot of this story doesn’t make any sense, there’s tons of loose ends, some ridiculous character decisions, and you really have to push a lot of silliness aside to buy into the plot. The background story, alone, makes no sense; it’s quite farcical, to be honest.

I imagine most people will guess the twist early on, if they managed to miss the press chatter and the trailer. They may see some of the other stuff coming later on, as well. This is a fairly formulaic thriller, once that aspect kicks in, and pretty predictable. It never seemed like a huge issue, though; I was enjoying the movie too much to care.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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